District updates referendum construction schedule; board asks staff to quantify cost of further delays
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Summary
Facilities staff told the committee that multiple referendum-funded projects are moving toward final inspections and construction document completion, and the board asked staff to draft a letter quantifying the inflationary cost of further delays.
Facilities staff updated the committee on the district’s referendum projects and urged the board to press for timely starts to avoid inflation-driven cost increases.
“We have a pre final inspection scheduled for this coming Thursday afternoon at 4PM,” said Speaker 4, the facilities presenter, reporting that the Office of the State Fire Marshal and local fire marshal will attend a pre-final walkthrough for the San Hill wing addition.
Speaker 4 also reported work at Silverville Elementary is placing under-slab plumbing and electrical and that block work will begin later this week. At Ashley Ridge, site preparation is underway for phases 2–4; gas lines, hydrants and lighting have been moved to accommodate a new band room. The contractor proposed a schedule that could complete the band room and weight room by May, which would require displacing the band for one semester and finishing other work over the summer.
“Every day that we don't start construction is costing us X, Y, Z based on inflation,” said Speaker 3 during discussion; the board agreed to draft a letter from the board quantifying the financial impact of delaying projects and asked staff in construction to produce specific, itemized estimates.
Construction administration updates included that the schematic design review for Summerville High is complete with the state fire marshal and smoke analysis will be incorporated into construction documents expected by May or June; the gym is being targeted for completion by late August to meet the fall term. Dorchester High classroom renovation documents were described as 95% complete and expected to be submitted mid-month; the district has issued an RFQ and preliminarily prequalified three contractors for bidding.
Speaker 2 named the three prequalified firms: Brantley Construction Company LLC, Hill Construction Services of Charleston Inc., and Jay Davis Construction.
On budgeting, Speaker 4 said the guaranteed maximum price for the Ashby Ridge package is just under $10,000,000 and that the figure includes roughly $1,800,000 allocated to roofing. The presenter said two separate referendum roofing efforts were combined under one GMP to avoid coordination issues and finger-pointing between contractors.
The committee directed staff to prepare the requested estimate letter rather than publicly drawing contractors into the initial cost discussion; Speaker 6 recommended the district prepare its own inflation estimates to preserve procurement integrity. The meeting closed after a short Q&A and a reminder of the 6:00 p.m. meeting time.
Next steps: staff will prepare the board letter quantifying delay-related cost increases and continue progressing construction documents, permitting and contractor selection for the listed projects.